brother of Diana (Artemis). He was god of the sun, as Diana, his
sister, was the goddess of the moon.

Venus (Aphrodite), the goddess of love and beauty, was the
daughter of Jupiter and Dione. Others say that Venus sprang from
the foam of the sea. The zephyr wafted her along the waves to
the Isle of Cyprus, where she was received and attired by the
Seasons, and then led to the assembly of the gods. All were
charmed with her beauty, and each one demanded her for his wife.
Jupiter gave her to Vulcan, in gratitude for the service he had
rendered in forging thunderbolts. So the most beautiful of the
goddesses became the wife of the most ill-favored of the gods.
Venus possessed an embroidered girdle called the Cestus, which
had the power of inspiring love. Her favorite birds were swans
and doves, and the plants sacred to her were the rose and the
myrtle.

Cupid (Eros), the god of love, was the son of Venus. He was her
constant companion; and, armed with bow and arrows, he shot the
darts of desire into the bosoms of both gods and men. There was
a deity named Anteros, who was sometimes represented as the
avenger of slighted love, and sometimes as the symbol of
reciprocal affection. The following legend is told of him:--

Venus, complaining to Themis that her son Eros continued always a
child, was told by her that it was because he was solitary, and
that if he had a brother he would grow apace. Anteros was soon
afterwards born, and Eros immediately was seen to increase
rapidly in size and strength.